Real paella is a craft and a ceremony. This is the weeknight version: one skillet, supermarket ingredients, and the same golden, crusty-bottomed satisfaction. The only rule that survives from the original – once the stock goes in, stop stirring.
Ingredients
- 300 g short-grain rice (bomba or arborio)
- 2 chicken thighs, diced
- 200 g shrimp, peeled
- 1 onion + 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp smoked paprika + a pinch of saffron (or ¼ tsp turmeric)
- 750 ml warm chicken stock
- 100 g frozen peas + 1 carrot, diced
- 1 lemon, in wedges
- Fresh cilantro or parsley, olive oil, salt
Method
- Brown the chicken in olive oil over medium-high heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Push to the edges.
- Soften the onion, garlic, and carrot in the middle, 3 minutes. Stir in the paprika and saffron for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice and stir to coat every grain in the spiced oil.
- Pour in the warm stock, season, and level the rice. Simmer uncovered 15 minutes – no stirring from here; the crust at the bottom is the prize.
- Nestle in the shrimp and scatter the peas; cook 5 more minutes until the shrimp turn pink and the liquid is absorbed.
- Rest off the heat for 5 minutes under a towel. Finish with herbs and a hard squeeze of lemon.